Railway-frog



(No Model.)

G. LEHLBAGH.

RAILWAY PROG- No. 323.585. Patented Aug. 4, 1885 I252 82 cizan Uzi-a. AB

flaw J 4 4% N. PE ERS. Plwm-umo n mr. Washingm n z;

UNITED STATES GUSTAV LEHLBACH, OF

PATTNT @rrica NEVARK, NEV JERSEY.

RAILWAY-FROG.

Patent No. 323,585, dated August. 4, 1885.

11, 1895. (No modeLl To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUSTAV LEHLBAOH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, haveinvented certainnew and useful Improvements in Railway-Frogs; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, whichform a part of this specification.

The invention relates more particularly to ihe construction of a deviceto be used where one rail upon railroad tracks has to cross another,which crossing is at present usually accon'iplished by means of a frog;and the improvements are set forth in the following specification andaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents the plan of theimprovement. Fig. 2 represents a section upon the line A 13 of Fig. 1.Fig. 8 represents a sec tion upon the line C D of Fig. 1.

In Fig. l the different parts of the improvement are designated by thefollowing letters: Ill designates the rails of the main track; T,therails of the turn-out track which crosses the rail of the main track. Fare iron or steel frog-bars. H are hinges suitably fastened to theaforesaid frog-bars F F. 1 are iron chairs to receive the ends of theturnout rails, and to which the hinges H H are also connected, and uponwhich the ends of the frogbars F F also rest and move. I are ironguideplates, upon which the frog-bars F F slide when moved, and uponwhich they also have a hearing when in position for the turn-out track.L are levenbars and connecting-rods suitably fastened to the frogbars FF at K K, and so arranged that motion can be given to the frog-bars F Fto change their positions to those indicated by the dotted lines in thefigurc. Q are connecting-rods leading to the switch. R are thecrossties; S, a spring permit-ting a movement of about six inches.

In Fig. 2, M designates the rail of the main track; F, the frog-ba1x InFig. 8, M designates the rail of the main track; F, the frog- Theobjects of the invention are, first, to avoid the cutting of themain-track rail; second, to furnish an unbroken and continuous bearingfor the wheels upon the turn-out track as well as upon the main track.

The cutting of the main-track rail is avoided by the raising of thefrog-barsFEso that the tops of these bars are about twoinches above thetop of the main-track rail, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, therebypermitting the flanges of the wheels to passover the main-track railwithout touching it, the rails of the turn-out track T T being graduallyraised to meet the elevation of the frog-bars F F.

The unbroken and continuous bearing upon the turnout track is effectedby the frog-bars, which meet upon the top of the main-track railsufficiently close to make the bearing practically unbroken andcontinuous, being supported at that point by the maintrack rail uponwhich they rest, and also beingheld in this position by the lever -barsL. The frog-bars F F are also slotted so as to fit around the head ofthe main-track rail, as shown in Fig. 2, so that when the frog-bars areset for the turn-out track they will be firmly held in their positions.

In Fig. l the frog-bars are in posit-ion for the turn-out track to crossthe main track at the angle shown, and the dotted lines indicate thepositions which are occupied by the frogbars F and the lever-bars L whenset to leave the main track clear and intact.

By means of the rods Q Q, in Fi 1, which are suitably connected with themechanical arrangement for moving the switch,any movement of the switchwill at the same time give the requisite corresponding movement to thefrog'bars F I In case the frog-bars should by mistake he set for theturn-out track whenit was intended to have left the main track clear, aspring, as S, or its equivalent is provided and arranged so that thewheels of a train upon the main track will press the frog-bars F F asideand thus allow the free passage of the train upon the main track pastthe frog-pointin either direction.

The arrangement and operation of the spring S are as follows: Saidspring is placed in an iron frame, and at one end one of the lever-barsbar; I, a guide-plate, and R the cross-tie.

V L is fastened to the frame, and at the other the lever-bar L can movefreely through a hole in the head of the iron frame and press upon thespring bytheintervention of suitable washers, as indicated in thedrawings. The proper strain with which it is desired to press the bars Fagainst the main rail is put upon the spring when it is placed in theframe, and when a pressure greater than this is exerted upon the springby reason of the pressure of passing wheels against the sides of thefrog-bars F, the spring S is compressed still more, thus allowing thefrog-bars to open without breaking any of the parts, as will beunderstood.

I am aware that it is not new to adapt the ordinary railroad-rail asparts of an arrangement by which the rail of a turn-out track is passedover the main-track rail without cutting such main rail; but the shapeof an ordinary railroad-rail does not permit this to be done with safetyand durability. I have there fore devised the movable frog-bars F,asshown in the drawings, constructed from rectangular bars of metal andmitered where they come to gether upon the top of the main rail, andslotted or grooved t0 fit around the head of the main rail for thepurpose of holding them firmly in position, as shown. Said frog-bars arealso arranged in ahorizontal position and move in the same plane, sothat no break in the grade of the crossing occurs upon the movableparts, as has been the case heretofore.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. The combination, with therails of a railroad-track, of frog-bars, as F F, slotted or grooved, asdescribed, and means arranged to operate in connection therewith, forthe purposes set forth.

2. The combination, with the rails of a railroad-track, of frog-bars, asF F, and a system of levers, as L, arranged and operating for thepurposes set forth.

3. The combination, with the rails of a railroad-track, of frog-bars, asF F, a system of levers, as L, and a spring, as S, or equivalent means,arranged and operating in connection therewith, for the purposes setforth.

4. The combination, with the rails of a railroad-track, of frog-bars, asF F, a system of levers, as L, a spring, as S, or equivalent means, androds, as Q, connecting the levers, as L, with the mechanism for movingthe switch, and adapted to be operated thereby for the purposes setforth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this10th day of April, 1885.

GUSTAV LEHLBACH.

Witnesses:

OLIVER DRAKE, OSCAR A. MICHEL.

